Major in Forest Science
Graduate Work in Forestry
Courses
120 Russell Labs, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706; 608/262-9975; forest.wisc.edu
Professors Guries (chair), Bockheim, Bromley, Buongiorno, Field, Gower, Kruger, Lorimer, Mladenoff, Raffa, Ray, Stanosz; Associate Professors Bowe, Davis, Langston, Radeloff, Rickenbach, Townsend
An undergraduate major in Forest Science is offered in the Natural Resources degree program and the International Agriculture and Natural Resources degree program. Students electing forestry prepare themselves for a wide variety of professional opportunities in public and private forest land management, or for graduate study in a field related to forest resources. The curriculum contains a core of physical, biological, and social sciences, resource-related courses, and an integrated sequence in forestry. Most forestry courses include a field component and all students must complete a professional work experience prior to graduation. Students choose from among several options within the Forest Science major depending upon their career interests. Most options within these undergraduate majors are accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
Students completing an undergraduate major in Forest Science under the Natural Resources program are awarded the Bachelor of Sciences-Natural Resources degree. Those completing the International Agriculture and Natural Resources course work earn the Bachelor of Science-International Agricultural and Natural Resources degree. The department should be consulted for specific career information.
Students with research as a professional goal should consider graduate work in forest resources and related sciences. Advanced work usually is required for research positions. Details may be obtained from the department.
The Department of Forest Ecology and Management offers graduate education in a variety of specialties leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Programs are developed within the department or jointly with other departments. For information, see the Graduate School Catalog.
100 Introduction to Forestry. I, II; 2 cr (B-E). Relationship of humans to forest resources. Roles of the forester in manipulating the forest environment to produce goods and services desired by contemporary society. Current issues in forest resource management and policy, with emphasis on the relation to environmental quality and natural resources. P: Open to Fr.
205 Scientific and Professional Computing in Natural Resources. I, II; 2 cr. Application of computer software, especially spreadsheet, database and geographic information system (GIS), in a scientific and professional setting using real world research and management data sets. Emphasis is on data analysis and preparation of publication and presentation products in natural resources fields.
230 Introduction to Resource Based Recreation. I; 1 cr (E). An overview of outdoor recreation definition; concepts; behaviors; motivation; and trends relative to agencies with responsibilities for the management of protected areas such as parks and public lands. P: Open to Fr.
248 Environment, Natural Resources, and Society. (Crosslisted with Rur Soc, Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-E). Introduces the concerns and principles of sociology through examination of human interaction with the natural environment. Places environmental issues such as resource depletion, population growth, food production, environmental regulation, and sustainability in national and global perspectives. P: Open to Fr.
289 Honors Independent Study. I, II, SS; 1-2 cr (I). P: Enrolled in the Cals Honors Prgm & So or Jr st. Inter-Ag 288.
299 Independent Study. I, II, SS; 1-3 cr (I). P: Open to Fr, So or Jr st & written cons inst.
300 Forest Biometry. II; 4 cr (B-I). Basic concepts of statistical inference and sampling theory as applied to forestry. Estimation of tree and forest characteristics. Use of aerial photographs; principles of data processing; information gathering and decision making under uncertainty. P: Stat 201 or Stat 224 or Stat 301 or equiv.
305 Forest Operations. Even yrs.; II; 2 cr. Introduction to forestry operations in the implementation of forest plans, including site preparation, stand establishment, and harvesting systems. Analysis of costs and productivity, including system balance, marketing, timber procurement, and contractual services. P: Forestry 300 or 410.
309 Diseases of Landscape Trees and Shrubs. (Crosslisted with Pl Path, Hort, Land Arc) I; 3 cr (B-I). Fundamental disease concepts, pathogens and causal agents, diagnosis, and biologically rational strategies and practices for management of diseases of woody landscape plants. For professionals and degree students. One lecture/discussion and one lab/field trip per week. P: One semester of plant sci or cons inst.
312 Wood Identification. II; 1 cr. Introduction to gross and microscopic characteristics of wood. Identification of visual characteristics of twenty-eight major U.S. wood species using 10x magnification. P: So st.
314 Wood, Industrial Use, and Society. II; 3 cr. This course is an introduction to wood as an industrial raw material with content covering the biological nature of wood, mechanical and biological properties of wood, technology and products of wood, and the regional, national, and global demand for wood and forest products. P: Forestry 312 or con reg or cons inst.
330 Resource-Oriented Recreation Management. I; 3 cr (S-I). Description and evaluation of outdoor recreation resource management problems and issues on public lands; analysis of the influence of different organizational structures and decision-making strategies on planning, resource management and conflict resolution; examination of vegetation and wildlife management for preservation and recreation purposes. P: Jr st; intro courses in stats, ecology & poli sci, or cons inst.
375 Special Topics. I, II; 1-4 cr. P: Cons inst.
399 Coordinative Internship/Cooperative Education. I, II, SS; 1-8 cr (A). P: So, Jr or Sr st and cons of supervising inst, advisor, and internship program coordinator.
402 Dendrology. (Crosslisted with Botany) I, II; 2 cr (B-I). Identification, ranges, uses, and some ecological characteristics of evergreen and deciduous woody plants, both native and cultivated; lab and field work. P: A 5 cr intro college crse in bot or equiv.
403 Geometric Analysis of Vertical Aerial Photographs. (Crosslisted with Civ Engr, Envir St) I, II; 1 cr (P-I). Elementary photogrammetric procedures for obtaining reliable measurements from aerial photographs. Photographic measurements and refinements; geometry of vertical aerial photographs; scale and relief displacement; stereoscopy and parallax. Introduction to stereoplotters and orthophotoscopes. Camera calibration. Introduction to analytical photogrammetry and flight planning. P: Math 221 or equiv & Civ Engr 301, or cons inst.
410 Principles of Silviculture. II; 3-4 cr (B-I). Ecologically-based forest management principles for sustainable timber production, maintenance or restoration of biological diversity, and maintenance of aesthetic quality and site productivity. Includes coverage of even-aged and uneven-aged management, reforestation principles, and ecological restoration techniques. P: Intro crse in ecology & Jr st, or cons inst.
415 Tree Physiology. I; 3 cr (B-I). Physiological basis of development of forest trees and stands, factors affecting tree growth. P: Botany 350 or 500 or cons inst.
430 Agroforestry. Even yrs.; II; 3 cr (B-I). Introduction to the ecology and management of agroforestry systems in various agroecologic zones, with consideration of socioeconomic as well as biological opportunities/constraints on production. P: Jr st or cons inst.
431 Natural Resource Economics. (Crosslisted with AAE, Econ) I; 3 cr (S-I). Economic concepts and tools relating to management and use of natural resources, including pricing principles, cost-benefit analysis, equity, externalities, economic rent, renewable and nonrenewable resources, and resource policy issues. P: Econ 301 and Math 211, or equiv.
450 Communities and Forests. Odd yrs.; II; 3 cr (S-I). An examination on a global basis of the interactions between human communities and forests, with an emphasis on alternative approaches to community forestry management, drawing on both first and third world experiences. P: Sr st.
451 Environmental Biogeochemistry. (Crosslisted with Soil Sci) Odd yrs.; II; 3 cr (P-D). Emphasis is given to a consideration of the processes influencing the distribution and cycling of chemical elements in native and anthropogenic ecosystem-level cycles of elements, and biogeochemical cycling in major soil-biome systems. P: Chem 103-104 or equiv.
452 World Forest History. (Crosslisted with Envir St, History) I; 3 cr (Z-A). Examines world forest history, with attention to links between societal change and forest change. Examines how different peoples have used or abused the forest, how societies have struggled to establish policies governing forests, and how perceptions of forests have evolved.
455 The Vegetation of Wisconsin. (Crosslisted with Botany) I; 4 cr (B-I). Ecology of Wisconsin plant communities: floristic composition, community structure; relationship to history, climate, soil, and geology; response to human perturbation. Lecture and lab. P: Botany 100, or Botany 130, or Botany/Zoology 151-152, or Biocore 313.
460 General Ecology. (Crosslisted with Botany, Zoology) I, II; 4 cr (r-B-I). Ecology of individual organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, landscapes, and the biosphere. The interaction of organisms with each other and their physical environment. These relationships are studied, often in quantitative terms, in both field and laboratory settings; lecture and lab. P: Intro crse in botany & zoology, or Bot/Zoo 151-152, or Biocore 301 or 333; for biol sci majors only.
461 Environmental Systems Concepts. (Crosslisted with Envir St, Botany) II; 3 cr (I-I). A general systems approach to environmental problems: a philosophical-conceptual framework and a quantitative methodology for dealing with critical environmental issues that cross the boundaries of traditional disciplines. The nature of general systems, concepts and laws; the role of perspective in identification of system properties; the structure and behavior of environmental and ecological systems. For students with strong interests in environmental problems. P: Envir St 126 & a crse in biology, or enroll in envir st undergrad progm. Authorization may be required.
500 Insects and Diseases in Forest Resource Management. (Crosslisted with Entom, Pl Path) I; Odd yrs.; 4 cr (B-I). Nature and significance of representative insects and diseases of natural and planted forests with emphasis on their control through manipulation of basic ecological and biological factors. P: Botany 151 & 152 or equiv.
501 Forest Fire Behavior and Management. Odd yrs.; II; 1 cr (I-E). Principles and applications of forest fire behavior, prediction, control and use; current policy issues in fire management. P: Forestry 100 or college level plant ecology course.
515 Renewable Resources Policy. (Crosslisted with Envir St, Wl Ecol) I or II; 3 cr (B-I). Historical and philosophical basis for and principal laws relating to forest, wildlife and related resources; roles of science and values in natural resources policy making; the policy process; the main federal and state renewable resource management agencies; ethics and professionalism. P: Forestry 410 or Wl Ecol 379 or cons inst.
524 Urban Soil and Environment. (Crosslisted with Soil Sci, Hort) II; 3 cr. Many environmental issues related to urbanization are derived from the manipulation of soil. By coupling contemporary literature in urban soils with soil science, students will be able to evaluate environmental issues within the urban environment and provide new ways of remediating their impact. P: Soil Sci 301 or 230.
550 Forest Ecology. I; 3-4 cr (B-I). Integrative study of processes in terrestrial ecosystem which affect emergent properties of energy and water flow and nutrient cycling. Special attention given to interactions between plants and soils. Implications for impacts of management and pollution loading discussed throughout. P: Five credit botany course.
565 Principles of Landscape Ecology. (Crosslisted with Zoology, Land Arc) Odd yrs.; II; 2 cr (B-D). Landscape ecology emphasizes the importance of spatial patterns at broad scales. Concepts and applications are emphasized, especially for seniors and graduate students in applied natural resource fields. The course is also a prerequisite for Zoology/Forest Ecology 665, Advanced Landscape Ecology. Lecture format with discussion. P: Botany/Zoology/Forest 460, or Forest 550, a crse in stats, & cons inst.
571 Statistical Methods for Bioscience I. (Crosslisted with Stat, Hort) I; 4 cr (r-I). Descriptive statistics, distributions, one- and two-sample normal inference, power, one-way Anova, simple linear regression, categorical data, non-parametric methods; underlying assumptions and diagnostic work. P: College algebra: Grad st or cons inst.
572 Statistical Methods for Bioscience II. (Crosslisted with Stat, Hort) II; 4 cr (I). Continuation of Forestry 571. Polynomial regression, multiple regression, two-way Anova with and without interaction, split-plot design, subsampling, analysis of covariance, elementary sampling, introduction to bioassay. P: Stats/Forestry/Hort 571.
590 Integrated Resource Management. I; 3 cr. Resource management planning in state and federal land management agencies. Students apply principles by working in teams to develop a management plan for a real property by inventorying resources; developing management objectives and alternatives; and analyzing their ecological, social and institutional implications.
600 Forest Taxation. (Crosslisted with AAE) Irr.; 1-2 cr. Analysis of major types of taxes affecting forest land ownership and management. Past and current policy directions. Presentation of analytical models for determining impact of taxes upon resource allocation decisions and criteria for judging social desirability of taxes. P: Intmed crse in econ or cons inst.
619 Synthetic Fibers. (Crosslisted with ETD) I or II; 1 cr. Fundamentals of chemical spinning of synthetic polymers to fibers and characterization and utilization of these fibers in textile and other applications will be discussed. P: Chem 345.
635 Forest Stand Dynamics. Even yrs.; II; 1-2 cr. Changes in forest species composition and structure at the stand and landscape level resulting from tree growth, competition, succession, and disturbance. Methods for reconstructing past stand development and forecasting future trajectories. Selected applications in forest management and natural areas management. P: Crse in silviculture or ecology (Botany 460 or equiv) & crse in stats. Sr or Grad st.
650 Energetics of Forest Ecosystems. Alt yrs.; II; 4 cr. Analysis of the abiotic and biotic factors that control carbon assimilation, allocation and cycling in forest ecosystems. Implications for perturbation such as disturbance, pollution and climate change will be discussed. Techniques of production analysis. P: Forestry 550 or equiv or cons inst.
652 Decision Methods for Natural Resource Managers. (Crosslisted with AAE, Envir St) II; 3-4 cr (r-B-I). Applications of quantitative methods, including optimization and simulation, to the management of natural resources, especially forests. P: Math 211 or equiv & Comp Sci 132 or equiv.
655 Forest Resources Practicum. Even yrs.; SS; 3 cr. Field training and experience; exposure to forestry operations, equipment, procedures, and management problems. P: Cons inst.
657 National Forest Management Practicum. Even yrs.; II; 1 cr. Field training and experience; exposure to forestry operations, equipment, procedures, and management problems. A tour outside the lake states. P: Cons inst.
681 Senior Honors Thesis. I, II; 2-4 cr (A). Forestry research; an independent and original study guided by a staff member. P: Hon candidacy.
682 Senior Honors Thesis. I, II, SS; 2-4 cr. Continuation of 681. P: Honors program candidacy & Forest 681.
699 Special Problems. I, II, SS; 1-4 cr (A). P: Sr st & cons inst.